


Cryptozoology

by wr0ngsideofreality (slothlover42)



Category: Fall Out Boy
Genre: Additional Characters to be added, Alternate Universe - No Band, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Western, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-06-13 19:54:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15372123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slothlover42/pseuds/wr0ngsideofreality
Summary: An undertaker who can see souls,  a bartender who's hair isn't really hair, a sheriff whose tattoos are more than just works of art on his skin, and...Pete.Pete Wentz stumbles wakes up in the small town of Folie and finds that not all is as it seems.





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> *wiggly arms* WEIRD ASS WESTERN AU

When Pete woke up, it was to the sight of endless black holes that resided in the skull of a man. Hoping he was just hallucinating, Pete blinked rapidly to dispell the image from his mind.

It didn't work.

The face gained a smile, a crooked one at that.

"Blinking rapidly? What for? To get rid of me?" The smile was all teeth and slight malice and sent shivers up Pete's spine. "It doesn't work like that." 

"Patrick!" The man Pete learned to be Patrick looked up sharply and his grin grew wider. The malice dropped and the smile was more genuine and kind.

"Hello, Joseph." Pete turned his head slowly to the side to take in the man that entered the...

Well, Pete wasn't sure where he was, but judging by all the coffins, materials for making coffins and the darker interior, he would say it was the home of an undertaker. 

Pete's interest in the place was soon replaced by slight horror and awe as he took in the man called Joseph.

His hair could be mistaken as curly or fluffy from afar, but as he got closer, Pete noticed that his hair wasn't hair at all.

It was snakes.

Dozens of snakes.

Pete's eyes widened and he shoved himself up and off of the surface he was lying on. He scrabbled for purchase on the wooden floor and watched as Patrick raised an eyebrow.

"He seems frightened." Joseph rolls his eyes.

"Anyone would be frightened if the first thing they woke up to was your eyeless face." Patrick scoffed and crossed his arms. Pete imagined that if the man had eyes, they would be rolling in their sockets.

"I'm certain it's because of your...hair." Joseph smiles and ruffles Patrick's hair. Patrick cleared his throat. "Who are you?"

"Who am I? Who are you! Where am I? How did I get here!" 

"That's exactly what we are planning on finding out." A new voice calls from the entrance of the building. Joseph turns towards the newcomer and smiles. Patrick remains with his eyeless gaze trained on Pete. It takes everything in Pete's power to not flinch away from that gaze.

"Andy, this is...someone. Someone, this is Andy." Andy smiles at him. His smile is actually genuine and kind. It's nothing like what Patrick gave him after he woke up.

"Joe, you didn't even get his name?" Joe shrugs and looks at Andy with a bored gaze.

"He was kind of freaking out over my hair and Patrick in general." Patrick growled and spun towards the man. Andy stepped in between them and put calming hands on Patrick's arms.

Patrick blinks and Pete almost freaks out from how odd it looks.

Almost.

Pete watches as Andy calms the small man down. Pete is relieved when Patrick is no longer vibrating with anger. His arms are folded over his stomach and he's the picture of calm.

"What is your name?" Andy asks kindly, voice full of curiosity. Pete blinks at him, then his tattoos, then back to him.

"Pete." Andy nods at him.

"Well, Pete. You didn't stumble upon Folie by accident. So, what are you?"


	2. 2

"When you asked me what I was, what did you mean by that?" Pete asks as he stares down at his whiskey. Patrick's on the stool next to him but is facing out towards the others in the bar. Andy is next to Patrick, watching the small man (the undertaker for the town, Pete learned) carefully.

"Well, Folie is a hard place to find. And when you do, it usually means you're not really...normal." Joe says from his place behind the bar. He has a dirty rag on his shoulder and he's grabbing bottles of whiskey from underneath the bar.

"Not...normal?" Patrick turns towards Pete and smiles.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but Joe has snakes for hair, I don't have eyes but I can still...see, and Andy has tattoos that aren't actually tattoos." Patrick turns back towards the room. "Everyone in Folie has something odd going on with them. Some have visions, some can talk to animals, some shift into different forms. We're not sure why, but it's how this town is. We've never had a normal person here. So, that's why we're wondering what you are."

The doors to the bar clatter as they open and close. Pete watches as Patrick frowns and turns his head towards the newcomer. 

"Patrick. Longtime no...see." Patrick blinks in utter boredom at the man.

"What are you doing here?" Patrick asks unkindly. True, there's no venom in his voice, but there is something else hidden there that Pete can't really pick up on right now. He's too busy taking in the man that's standing there.

He's tall. His build is massive and his eyes are a blazing red.

"Just wanted to see how my favorite Undertaker was doing." Patrick flinches back as the man's hand caresses his cheek. Patrick sneers and leans back into the bar.

"I was doing amazing until you showed up, Jackson." Patrick growls out, leaning in towards Andy who has put his arm protectively around the small man. Jackson just huffs out a laugh.

Then his eyes meet Pete.

Jackson raises an eyebrow at him.

"Who are you?" Pete stumbles over his words as he grapples for something to say.

"None of your business." Patrick spits out, standing up and in front of Pete protectively. "Besides, I wouldn't imagine you'd want to stick around too long." Patrick smiles that ruthless smile and cocks his head to the side. "Your mother is so ashamed of you. Oh, and your wife says hi."

Patrick doesn't see the fist coming, Pete knows this. But the sound that Patrick's body makes as it crashes into the bar and then to the floor is painful.

"You don't know anything." Jackson growls. Patrick smiles and Pete takes in the blood that covers his face. 

"Don't I? They're right here. You can talk to them if you'd like." His voice is a cold whisper. Jackson rears back as if punched. He doubles over, holds his face, cradles his arm. "The dead don't like to be disturbed. You know that, yet look at you. You disturb them whenever you step foot into this town." Patrick frowns, then smiles again. "Besides, who could forget the man who ended his own family's life."

"Patrick." Andy whispers. 

"Who could forget the man that destroyed half the town in a fit of rage? Who killed all those people? The dead don't forget." Jackson growls at Patrick, looks to the others in the bar, then leaves with a huff. Andy sighs and helps Patrick up.

"You shouldn't antagonize him like that." Patrick shrugs, indifferent to the fact that he just angered a man twice his size.

"He deserved it." It's then that Pete notices how the room had gone still. Patrick raises an eyebrow. "It's not like you haven't seen this show before." Patrick says speaking to the room. "Go about your business." The room picks up again with loud piano and talking going on.

Pete stares at Patrick with wonder in his eyes.

"What are you?"

Patrick smiles that toothy smile, blood covering his teeth. 

"I'll tell you all about it if you buy me a drink."


	3. 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly don't know where this story is going, but I hope you stick with me hahahaha.
> 
> I was listening to the Mamma Mia soundtracks whilst writing this so I hope it turns out alright hhahaha

Pete didn't end up buying Patrick a drink, seeing as Joe was the bartender and offered free drinks to anyone there.

"So, tell me about you." Pete says, gaining a smile from the odd man.

"What is there to tell? I made a deal with the devil. My eyes were taken." Patrick lets out a huff of breath when Andy elbows his ribs.

"Don't be stingy with the details." He mutters, shooting Patrick a look that the Undertaker doesn't see.

"When I was little, I had wonderful parents. They were kind and put love in everything they did. I was their only kid. My other siblings died during birth, though we weren't surprised. The town was...not the greatest. Kids died all the time." Patrick sucked in a breath and pushed it out harshly. His hands shifted on the surface of the bar as he tried grasping for his drink. Andy stilled his hands and pressed the drink lightly in them. "Years passed. I was probably 10 when it happened."

"My parents died during a shootout in our town. Bandits came through and shot up the whole town. People died left and right. We had a mass grave just outside the town. I was heartbroken. I cried day and night. I was getting sick and I just-" Patrick cleared his throat, took a sip of his drink and continued. "One night, I made a wish. I just wanted to see my parents again." He shoots a wry smile down at his drink. "Someone heard me."

"The Devil came calling. Well, he came answering. He heard my wish, heard my cries. He looked at me and said 'You want to see your parents again?' I couldn't help but say yes. He told me 'You can. But it comes at a price.' I told him I would do anything. I would give anything. He looked me over, lingering over my eyes for the longest time. Then, he spoke to me. 'You have beautiful eyes.' He reached towards them, but I didn't move. I stayed right there and I let him do what he wanted. He ripped my eyes from my head, but I didn't feel anything. I was confused as to how it would help me see my parents again."

"Then I saw the answer. I could no longer see solid figures. I saw the souls of the dead. I saw the souls of the living as well. I could talk to the dead. I could see them, hear them. My parents, when I finally saw them, were upset. They were angry, but they couldn't do anything about it. The Devil left in a cloud of smoke, and I was alone again. I couldn't do too much. No one would hire someone like me. So, I left my town."

"A few people from this town found me on the outskirts of the town. There was something different about this town. I never really realized what it was, but upon further inspection, I found that everything has a soul. That's why I can walk around so freely. True, there are some things who's souls are very muted and therefore hard for me to see. Like my drink? I can't see it's soul." Patrick says this with a laugh and Pete just watches on in amusement.

"Eventually, I got a job. I became the Undertaker in this town. 's not too bad. We don't get a lot of people here dying, but sometimes we'll find the dead outside or along roads. We bring them here and give them proper burials."

"Patrick gets worried about the sad souls that preside over the dead." A girls voice pops up from the crowd.

"You would be too if you could see them Hayley. The souls of the dead. They take on a sad, decaying look. Their body is dying, but so are they. It's odd, but I feel as though the souls of the dead remain worried about the body they inhabited. Until a body is buried, safe underground, they worry. It kills them." Patrick lets out a shaky sob. "It's a sight I don't like to see. It haunts me. They're dark and grey where they're usually full of life. Their eyes are endless black pools of blood that drip from the sockets. Their mouths are ripped and they're fingers are clawed. Their hair is nearly nonexistent. Just strands of what used to be."

"When the body is buried, safe and sound, the souls slowly return to how they were before." Patrick says this with a smile. He turns to Pete. "I can see you. I know what you look like, but only barely. Your soul is blue, so that's all I really get. I don't know what color your eyes are or anything like that, but souls give off an energy that tells me your emotions." He says, shrugging a little at the statement. "So, that's me. Anything else?"

"How did you meet Joe and Andy?" Patrick smiles and Pete sees Andy and Joe smile as well.

"I found him outside that first day." Andy tells him. "I'm the sheriff of the town, and it was my first day on the job. He didn't look too great, so I brought him here."

"I gave him food and something to drink." Joe adds in, a wide smile on his face.

"They became my first friends. Without them, who knows who I would be hanging out with." Patrick shudders a little and Pete frowns.

"I do have one last question." Patrick raises an eyebrow. "Who's Jackson?"

The bar goes silent.


	4. 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still don't know where this story is going.

Patrick smiles a nostalgic kind of smile that sends shivers down Pete's spine.

"Jackson is...something else." He whispers out, blinking and turning around to face the rest of the bar. "He did something...unforgivable."

"He came here looking for help." Joe speaks up, placing a hand on Patrick's shoulder. Patrick leans into the touch and closes his eyes. Joe squeezes his shoulder and comes around to the other side of the bar. "He was...something different. We weren't sure what. Patrick took notice to it as soon as he stepped into the town."

"His soul was stained." Patrick says with a shaky breath. His eyebrows twitch as his eyes remain closed. "It was red. A dark red like nothing I had ever seen before." Andy grips his wrist lightly and Patrick opens his eyes. "He carried the blood of so many with him. I just-" Patrick slumps and breathes deeply. "I just didn't realize who's blood it was."

"When he got here, we gave him a room. Somewhere to stay." Joe says, looking regretful at the memory. "We didn't know what he had done or what he was going to do when he got here. We trusted him."

"He was a monster." Haylee spits out, glaring at the table she's sitting at.

"Aren't we all?" Another man from a table over voices the question. 

"He's something else."

"He wronged us. Most of all Patrick." Andy says.

"He was a killer. I don't know what else to say about it." Patrick whispers out. 

"Well, a few days passed after we had let him into our town. Things were going great. Patrick wasn't too worried about the red staining his soul. Then week two of his stay came around." Joe looks around, and Pete notes the looks of sadness around the room. "We woke up to screaming."

"Loud, deafening screaming." Patrick's voice breaks out.

"We all rushed out of our homes or wherever we were for the night. The sight we were met with was...terrifying." Joe continues the story. "Homes were burning, people were screaming. They didn't die in the fire though. No, Jackson left them for later. The houses were burning, then he turned to the families that lived there. He killed all of them in cold blood."

"When Jackson came in earlier, you said that he killed half the town out of rage." Patrick blinks and turns to look at Pete.

"Yeah. I did. Didn't I? Rage is interesting. We all get it for different reasons. Like finding out your wife had run off with someone else and ended up in the same town you now lived in."

"Jackson found out she was here with her new love." Joe says, glaring at the ground. "He took out his rage on everyone else."

"After he had killed those people, we had to get him away." Andy says quietly, pulling Patrick close to him. "He didn't stop there though."

"We're not sure how he did it, but he destroyed their souls." Patrick's voice is raw with emotion. "I watched as each soul burned. I listened to their cries. All those people. Just...gone." Pete sees a stray tear fall from Patrick's sightless eyes.

"We managed to incapacitate him before he could finish off his wife and a few others. We chucked him in a cell and left him there while we tried to figure out what to do. Patrick was the deciding factor. He felt the pain those souls went through when they perished, so it seemed like the right idea."

"We banished him. We put a curse on him as well." Patrick's lips quirk into a smile. "The dead don't forget. I made sure he knew that. He's haunted by them both day and night. It gets worse if he ever steps foot here. Here, they can physically harm him."

Pete's silent as the story finishes.

"He never comes back, but when he does?"

"Something wicked follows him."


	5. 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNINGS: So, Patrick talks about some stuff here that might be unsettling. He talks about um. Well ok. It makes it sound a lot like suicidal tendencies/suicide in general. So, be careful when you're reading this. Be safe.

Pete looks around the small room with careful eyes. 

"Patrick's the only person you can bunk with." Andy tells him with apologetic eyes.

"Hope you don't mind coffins." Patrick deadpans as he leans against the doorframe with arms crossed on his chest. Andy rolls his eyes.

"You'll be up here which means you won't see any coffins." Patrick's mouth quirks into a small smile. "That's where you'll be sleeping for the night." Andy says, pointing to the corner where a mattress lays. "Hope you don't mind sharing a room." Pete shrugs and looks at his bed.

"I don't mind at all." He says truthfully. Andy smiles at him and nods.

"Right, well. I'll leave you to it. Pete, if Patrick gets up in the middle of the night and looks like he's gonna walk out of the house, try and follow him and yell for help." Pete's brow furrows and he looks to Patrick who shrugs and lets an indifferent look take over his face.

"Sometimes my body gets taken over by other souls who need help. It's no big deal."

"That...seems like a really big deal." Pete says, concern flooding his voice.

"Sure, it can be sometimes, but that hasn't happened in a long time." Pete looks at Andy who shakes his head.

"You don't wanna know."

"I'll tell you about it sometime." Patrick tells Pete. His smile is slightly unnerving and Pete starts to wonder if it's not too late to try and bunk with someone else.

"You will not." Andy scolds the undertaker, walking to him and placing a hand on his shoulder. "You don't need to worry him on his first night here." Patrick raises an eyebrow and turns his head toward Andy.

"Like you didn't already with the sleepwalking thing."

"It's not sleepwalking." Patrick lets one shoulder rise and fall.

"It could be."

"It's not."

"Says you." Andy sighs and squeezes Patrick's shoulder.

"Sleep well you two. I'll talk to you in the morning."

"Unless some soul induced sleepwalking takes place."

"Go to bed."

"Yes dear." Andy rolls his eyes and bids farewell to the two. 

Patrick's home is eerily quiet for a long while. 

"You don't have to worry about anything." Patrick says quietly, pushing off the doorframe and making his way over to his bed. "It doesn't happen as much as Andy made it sound like." Patrick sheds his jacket, then his shirt. He folds them both and places them on the floor next to his bed. He sits on his bed and gets to work on his shoes.

"The way you were talking about it-"

"It can be really bad. Maybe a soul will take over that is vengeful and wants to, I don't know, kill someone. They use my body to try and complete the deed. Maybe there's a soul that takes over that hated me." Patrick pauses and takes a breath. His shoes and socks are off and sitting neatly by the folded shirt and jacket. "Maybe they want me dead and try to walk me off a cliff or into a river."

"That's happened before?" Pete asks, sitting on his own bed and getting to work on his own clothes. Patrick lays down and casts a small, tired smile at the ceiling.

"More than once. The cliff and the river have both been attempted. Also, you'd be surprised how easy it is for a soul in another person's body to get into the gun store." Pete takes a quiet gasp and Patrick turns his head towards him. "Andy and Joe have found me in the store at times with a gun to my head or in my mouth. There have been close calls. It's hard to bounce back from that sort of thing too. I can't tell you how many days of sleep I lost because I was so scared it was going to happen again."

"I'm sorry that happens to you." Patrick shrugs and closes his eyes.

"It happens. It's my curse." The room falls silent again and Pete's on his back staring up at the ceiling. 

"I wish it wasn't."

"If you want, tomorrow you can ask all the questions you want. I'll answer them all to the best of my abilities."

"Really?"

"Absolutely." Pete smiles at Patrick and watches as the undertakers breathing slows as sleep starts to take over his body.

"I'd like that."


	6. 6

Pete woke up to the sound of soft footsteps echoing throughout the undertaker's home. He peeled his eyes open and took notice of the fact that it was still dark, and Patrick wouldn't have any need to be up and about at this time.

Pete's mind went back to not long ago when Andy warned him about what Patrick went through in the past and he jumped up from his mattress and bolted to follow Patrick.

It seemed like his time spent waiting and thinking was enough to allow whatever had taken hold of Patrick to get them near the cliff that was by the small town.

"Andy! Joe!" Pete yells as he races through the town, trying his hardest to reach the small undertaker before he takes a step off the ledge. "He's going to the cliff." In the corner of his vision, Pete can see lanterns come to life as inhabitants of the town race to get outside. Pete barely notices Andy and Joe racing beside him as they run to the cliff. "How did he get there so fast?" Pete screams as they run. 

"We're not sure! It just happens. It could do with the spirit in him. We've never thought to, y'know, ask." Joe speaks up, slightly out of breath from the frantic running.

"Patrick!" Andy yells as they reach the cliff. Patrick's got one foot off the edge and his body starts to fall.

"No!" The three exclaim as they watch the man let his body fall towards the hard ground. They continue to run towards the edge and stop short as they look down.

Patrick's on a ledge close the bottom, but just a few feet off the ground. He's on his back, his eyes are shut and there's blood pooling around his head.

"Holy shit." Pete breathes out.

"I've got him." Someone says as they rush past the three. Pete sees a flurry of wings and watches as the man glides down. He kneels next to Patrick, places his fingers on Patrick's neck, and deflates.

"Is he-"

"He's alive." The man calls from below. "But barely." Pete watches as Andy and Joe scramble to climb down. He can see other townsfolk at the bottom. They've got blankets and a cot, pillows, and jars. Pete doesn't want to think that this isn't the first time an attempt had gone this bad. 

"Usually, we can stop him." Pete turns to see Hayley standing next to him. "It's rare that a spirit will be able to tip him so far. We've almost lost him numerous times, but he's strong. We think it's because the Devil has more in store for him." Hayley scoffs. "The only immortal beings that boy deserves to meet are the Gods. The Devil can't touch him. Not while we're here." Pete thinks he sees something flash in her eyes, but he dismisses it quickly.

"He'll be alright?" Hayley shrugs, wrapping her arms around herself as she stares down at where everyone else is moving Patrick.

"Only time can tell."

**Author's Note:**

> What do you think?


End file.
